Jaylen Brown Declares for 2016 NBA Draft: Latest Comments and Reaction

Forward Jaylen Brown announced Thursday that he will enter the 2016 NBA draft, thus ending his collegiate career at California after just one season.

Brown made his announcement at a press conference, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle:

Letourneau added that it "sounds like" Brown intends to hire an agent, which would make him ineligible to return to Cal. 

The Marietta, Georgia, native joined the Golden Bears in 2015-16 to great fanfare, and he made a significant impact on both ends of the floor for a strong Cal team with per-game averages of 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 34 games. 

According to the Pac-12 Network, that production was good enough to earn him Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in one of the nation's most talented and competitive conferences:

Brown was among California's most productive offensive contributors and showed flashes of brilliance on a regular basis, but consistency was somewhat of an issue.

He wasn't overly efficient with a field-goal percentage of 43.1 and three-point percentage of 29.4, although he showed the ability to knock down shots from long range with a good-looking jumper when in rhythm, as seen in this video via the Pac-12 Network (h/t Cal Men's Basketball):

Brown has a skill set that figures to translate well to the NBA when it develops fully, but he may be hard-pressed to make an instant impact as a rookie because of his shooting issues. 

Because of that, HBO's Bill Simmons is among those who believe Brown would have benefited from one more season with the Golden Bears:

While additional seasoning likely would have made Brown more NBA ready, the 6'7", 225-pound swingman figures to be a first-round selection based on his potential alone.

Players of Brown's ilk always have a difficult decision on their hands. Returning to school and potentially having a great season could have elevated him even higher in the 2017 draft, but Brown had to weigh that against the possibility of injury. 

Entering the draft means that Brown is going with the sure thing and banking on the notion that he'll be able to learn on the fly in the NBA.

That strategy doesn't always work out, since a bad season or two is enough to derail a career, but Brown's athleticism and commitment on the defensive end give him a great starting point.

One certainty is that Brown's departure will be a significant loss for a Cal program that returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012-13 this past season.

Quick departures are to be expected in the one-and-done era, though, especially when it comes to players as talented as Brown.

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